THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF MALAWI

FACULTY OF THEOLOGY

Course Outline

TCST 1101: Catholic Social Teaching I

1. Program : Biblical and Religious Studies)
2. Presented to : Senate
3. Presented by : Faculty of Theology
4. Subject : Catholic Social Teaching I
5. Year/Level of Study :1
6. Course Title : Catholic Social Teaching I
7. Course code : TCST1101
8. Duration :17 Weeks
9. Lecture Hours per week :2
10. Tutorial hours per week :1
11. Practical hours per week : None
12. Student independent learning hours per week :6
13. Total course credits :3
14. Prerequisite course : This is a foundational course.
15. Co-requisite course : Catholic Social Teaching II, TCST
1201
16. Delivery Methods:
16.1 Mode of Delivery : Both face-to-face and online
16.2 Teaching methods : Lectures, Tutorials, Group
discussions, Student group
individual presentations
16.3 Assessment weighting : Continuous Assessment 40%
: Final Examination 60%
17. Aim of the Course:

To introduce students to the Church's underlying ethical principles on social matters through
the provision of methodological, doctrinal and foundational tools so as to enable them assess,
arrive at, disseminate and - if need be - defend sound ethical principles in social matters.

18. Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course students should be able to:

a. Define Catholic Social Teaching.

b. Explain the relevance of studying Catholic Social Teaching.
c. Unveil sources of Catholic Social Teaching.
d. Describe the methodology used in the study of Catholic Social Teaching.
e. Discuss the tasks of Catholic Social Teaching.
f. Explain foundations of Catholic social ethics.
g. Describe the historical development of the social teaching of the Church.
h. Discuss principles of Catholic Social Teaching.
i. Explain the social teaching of Fathers of the Church in the Patristic era.
j. Discuss the Middle Ages and scholastic synthesis.
k. Analyse social teaching of the Church in the modern times.

19. Topics of Study:

a. Preamble
i. Definitions of the Catholic Social Teaching
 Human
 Christian
 Catholic
ii. Relevance of the course on Catholic Social Teaching today
iii. Sources of Catholic Social Teaching
iv. Methodology of Catholic Social Teaching
 See (Experience)
 Judge (Reflect)
 Act
v. The tasks of Catholic Social Teaching
b. The Foundations of Catholic Social Teaching
i. Anthropological Foundation
ii. Biblical Foundation
iii. Theological Foundation

c. Principles of Catholic Social Teaching

i. The dignity of the human person
ii. Solidarity
iii. Subsidiarity
iv. Common good
v. Stewardship
vi. Participation
vii. Justice
viii. Preferential Option for the Poor
ix. Solidarity and subsidiarity

d. The Social Teaching of Fathers of the Church in the Patristic era

i. The relevance of the doctrine of the Fathers of the church in CST
ii. The social concern in the pre-Constantine era.
iii. The social concern after the Edict of Constantine to the end of the Patristic Era
iv. Writings of the Fathers on some Social Issues
 Private ownership of property
 The function of property
 Freedom and equality

e. The Middle Ages and Scholastic Synthesis

i. The search for a new political theory with a theological basis
ii. The theory of the State in Thomas Aquinas
iii. The making of the modern world (The Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation)

f. Social Teaching of the Church in Modern Times

i. The Enlightenment
 The French revolution
 The Industrial revolution
 The Church closed its doors to social changes
ii. Pope Leo XIII on the Plight of Worker (Rerum Novarum)
iii. Pope Pius XI on Social Reconstruction (Quadragesimo anno)
iv. Vatican Council II on Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes)
v. Pope Paul VI on the Development of Peoples (Populorum progression)
20. Prescribed Texts:

Dorr, D. (2012). Option for the Poor and for the Earth: Catholic Social Teaching (From
Leo XIII to Pope Francis). Orbis Books.

Massaro, T. (2011). Living Justice: Catholic Social Teaching in Action. Sheed & Ward.

Schlag, M., ed., (2017). Handbook of Catholic Social Teaching: A Guide for Christians
in the World Today. The Catholic University of American Press.

21. Recommended Texts:

Curran, C.E. (2002). Catholic Social Teaching: A Historical, Theological, and Ethical
Analysis. Georgetown University Press.

Himes, K.R., et al., eds. (2005). Modern Catholic Social Teaching: Commentaries and
Interpretation. Georgetown University Press.

O’brien, D., & Shannon, T., eds. (1992). Catholic Social Thought: The Documentary
Heritage, Orbis Books.

Peschke, K. (2012). Christian Ethics: Moral Theology in the Light of Vocation 11-
Volume I: General Moral Theology (Third Edition), C. Goodliffe Neale: Alcester.

Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, (2004). Compendium of the Social Doctrine of
the Church, Liberia Editrice Vaticana

This course outline/module specification was approved by senate on:

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